


Bargains with Imps and Deals with Devils

by xAndurielx



Series: The Judariel Series [2]
Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Demons, F/F, F/M, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-11
Updated: 2019-04-04
Packaged: 2019-10-26 07:27:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 20,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17741528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xAndurielx/pseuds/xAndurielx
Summary: It has been about 10 years since Nick gave a book of magic to his highschool crush...ten years since the veil was parted and he found that he had some talent in the mystic arts. Detective Nick Wilde may be a nice face for the tabloids and news to flash everywhere as the first fox of the ZPD but Nick is pretty sure they would be singing a different tune if they knew how he had made it so far. Tooth faeries as scouts, gremlins and brownies as informants and a variety of other such creatures aren't usually admissible in a court trial against drug lords and gang members after all. When Nick helps bust and break a new gang in the city and finds evidence that someone is playing with sulfur scented fire Nick decides it is probably better to bring in some help, after all it's always best to fight hellfire with hellfire..right?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So here is the second part of this train wreck that has been in my head for a while. Feel free to criticize and point things out like grammar and spelling as long as you tell me where they are so I can fix them. I may slip in a few references here and there in the chapters and if you can point them out I will give a shout out in the next chapter and probably take a request if it will fit into the story.

Nick strode down the alley perfectly relaxed and confident. Most mammals would be at least a little nervous walking around the docks at night and would be even more so knowing they were in Wendigo territory.

The Wendigo Gang had been plaguing the city for the last three months, illegal death matches, organ harvesting, mammal trafficking, drugs and weapons were just some of the main avenues of income for them. The most disturbing fact about the gang was how they got their name, if someone didn’t sell out to them or crossed them in any way…they were eaten. Mammals that lost in the matches were taken away to be harvested of any sell able parts and were then reduced down to the more desirable bits.

Nick came to the mouth of the darkened alley and stopped just outside a shaft of moonlight. Leaning up against a wall and peering around he soon caught sight of the warehouse he was looking for, course it looked like every other warehouse that ran along this particular stretch of the docks…broken windows, peeling paint, mold and ivy trying to gain a foothold along the base of the walls, firelight glowing from a few windows and howls of pain and blood lust echoing from the depths…wait.

   ‘ _Shit, sounds like they started the party early’_ Nick thought to himself with a short bolt of worry and panic racing down his spine. Ducking back further into the alley Nick took a quick look around and deciding the coast was clear summoned a bit of will. Whistling a quick and specific burst of song Nick waited impatiently until he heard what sounded like the pissed off love child of a hummingbird and mosquito.

Following the sound with his ears Nick stood stock still, a small grin playing the corner of his muzzle. Turning sharply at the end of a small countdown Nick came face torso with a small flying critter. Standing all of 2 and half inches tall the small creature hovered in front of Nick on its set of double dragonfly wings, four barbed limbs ending in tiny points hung below the creature and two small and similarly barbed arms were crossed over a somewhat emaciated looking chest. Nick would have laughed at the indignant look on the tiny creatures face if he wasn’t well aware of how bad an idea that was.

   “OK Longface, what do you want this time and it better be good I was in the middle of something” The tiny flying creature asked irritably in a fittingly squeaky voice.

   “Come on Fritz when have I ever given you something not worth your time?” Nick asked with a small smirk. “Look, see that warehouse over there with the lights in it? I need you and a few others to scout the area around in within without being seen and report back your findings. I suspect there will be multiple mammals inside and that some of them will be armed so I need to know how many there are, what weapons they are carrying or have access to and if any are injured.”

   “That’s it? You pull me away from a meal for this?!” The tiny creature sipped forward and landed on Nick’s snout so he could look Nick directly in the eye. Nick normally wouldn’t be very intimidated by something so small but seeing as how this particular type of fairy had a double set of rather sharp teeth and was the equivalent of a flying piranha on steroids and was very close to his eye, Nick felt it would be a good idea to get to the shameless bribery part of the night.

Reaching into his pocket Nick pulled out a small white object no bigger than his smallest claw. The small fairy that was baring his teeth an inch from his eye suddenly stopped and zeroed in on the small object. Eyes going wide the little creature flew like a bullet towards Nick’s hand only to be bounced off by a small bubble of arcane runes glowing in midair around Nick’s now closed fist.

   “I do apologize for pulling you and your kin away from a meal but I am also fully willing to pay for your services.” Nick said as he held the object, a small and sharp looking tooth, between his thumb and forefinger. “A freshly pulled canine to the fastest scout and a jelly donut to the runners up to split among themselves.”

Nick knew he had the little bugger the moment he said the words, fresh teeth were like crack to these particular fae but making a competition out of the task added the possibility of bragging rights to the mix and if there was one thing Nick knew the fae loved, it was being able to tell others how much better they were than others.

   “One tooth and a donut, ha don’t make me laugh, three teeth and an éclair and MAYBE you could tempt us.” The little fairy said indignantly as he unsuccessfully tried to keep from glancing at the tooth in Nick’s paw.

   “One tooth and an extra-large cheese pizza with anchovies, this isn’t just any little tooth…this is the cubs FIRST tooth…the first one to fall after years of sweets and innocent adventures. I hear the lad has quite the imagination, apparently they have sailed the high seas to fight kraken in the midst of a hurricane, explored the depths of caves long lost to the sunlight and found mountains of candy, defended mighty fortresses from invading giants all without leaving their backyard…BUT if you don’t think you are up to the task I guess I can always whistle up a few brownies and have them do the job for me.” Nick had to employ every ounce of control he had not to let a smile split his face at the look on the tooth fairy’s face. A First Tooth from a child with an imagination like that was a prize in itself for one of his kind but then to imply that not only he might not be able to do such a simple job, but that a brownie could do it where he couldn’t was borderline blasphemy and the thought of losing out on an anchovy pizza was simply un-thinkable.

   “WAIT WAIT WAIT don’t be so hasty now, you big folk are always in such a rush to get nowhere geeze…ok a tooth to the fastest and a pizza to the losers how many do you need for this disgustingly simple task?” The fairy asked after zipping in front of Nick before he could turn away.

   “As many as you can gather in…ten minutes should be enough” Nick replied after consulting his watch. When Nick looked up the fairy was gone, smiling to himself Nick pulled his phone out of his pocket.

   “Wilde how did you get this number and why by Adonis’s hairy balls are you calling at this hour?!” came a deep voice over the device.

   “Hey chief happy to hear your dulcet tones, sorry are you NOT at the precinct catching up on paperwork still? I could have sworn I saw a new stack delivered just before I left, anyway you remember that lead I had on the Wendigo gang? Of course you do it’s your job anyway it looks like they might have gotten a bit bored and started early, I am going to scout the area and see what I can find, we might still have some time before they move their operation but if we don’t what are the odds we can get a response team down here?” Nick asked as he looked at the warehouse where he could still hear howls, cheering and see firelight.

   “The fact that you have such a good closing rate on cases is the only reason you aren’t looking down the barrel of a month’s worth of parking duty, I can have a TUSK unit out there in 20 minutes if need be and any available black and whites soon after.” The chief of police replied.

   “Give me 20 minutes to make sure this won’t be a false alarm and if it isn’t send everyone you can, no lights or sirens until the place is surrounded…if you don’t hear from me in thirty minutes send them in anyways cause I would prefer not to be a surprise dessert for these guys if I mess up.” Nick said as he ducked back into the shadows of the alley once he caught sight of a few mammals exiting the warehouse, presumably for a quick smoke if the small orange pinpricks of light were anything to go by.

   “Affirmative…and Wilde…I have put to many names on the memorial wall in my time as chief, don’t make me put up another one.” With those final words the chief hung up and Nick went back to waiting for his scouts to…oh there they were.

Turning away from the warehouse at the sound of many buzzing wings Nick found himself looking at around a two dozen tiny fairies hovering in the air before him. Pulling the tooth out of his pocket again to get their attention Nick began to speak.

   “Alright the task is simple and the terms are thus: The fastest to return with the number of mammals inside that warehouse, the weapons being carried and the weapons available as well as any injured mammals gets the tooth and the bragging rights, the ones that come after that get to split an extra-large cheese pizza with anchovies. These are the terms and the task so you accept?”

With a unanimous affirmative the tiny fairies sped away almost too fast for Nick to follow. Five minutes later Nick flicked the tooth high into the air for Fritz to catch and hold up in triumph like some kind of great trophy and after giving the time and date for the runners up to collect their pizza Nick phoned the chief with the newly acquired intel.

* * *

 

The raid went off like it had been practiced…A full squad of TUSK members and seven two man teams of regular patrol units rolled up to surround the warehouse eighteen minutes after his last call. Flash bang grenades were launched through the broken windows along with a few tear gas canisters. Once the fumes began to drift out of the openings in the warehouse the Tusk members stormed the building in full riot gear and gas masks. Nick watched from the back of a van that was acting as a mobile command station as some mammals were brought out in a somewhat odd conga line. Mammals with blood dripping from their muzzles showing they had been actively eating only minutes ago, mammals covered in blood and bruises indicative of combat and a few mammals brought out on stretchers, some covered in bloody blankets.

   “Well Wilde, looks like you can put another feather in your cap for a successful case solved. One of these days I am going to figure out how you get this level of information and replace you with a newer model but until then…full report due on my desk by weeks end.” Nick smiled to himself as the voice of the Chief of Police made itself heard over the roars and yells of the furious gang members as they were lead into the various squad cars. Stuffing his paws in his pockets Nick decided to check out the inside of the warehouse, gazing around at the set up inside made him think that maybe he should reward the fairies a bit better for helping to arrest the gang sooner rather than later…skinned carcasses hung from hooks in a corner, some still dripping blood…what looked like a medieval kitchen with chopping blocks, cleavers, and meat grinders occupied another section of the warehouse…a cage of chain-link walls perched upon a raised dais of some kind in the middle of the large space, blood stains on the floor of the cage clearly showing it to be the death match arena.

It wasn’t until Nick was looking over the disturbing kitchen implements that he smelled something familiar, raising his nose into the air to better catch the scent he quickly followed it to its source near the back of the warehouse. Following his nose to what might at one point have been an office of some kind Nick opened the door and froze in place.

Beakers and Bunsen burners laid next to old manuscripts and tomes bound in actual leather, mathematical formula seemed to twist around and through arcane sigils and runes, diagrams and circles intersected in designs that hurt his eyes to look at. Snagging a small plastic bag off the table Nick backed out of the room and called over a familiar face from his days on the beat.

   “Wolfard! Come over here a minute I got something for you!” Nick called to the gray timber wolf that was taking photos of a few bloodstained pieces of cutlery.

   “Yeah Nick what’s u-ahhh the hell is all this?” Wolfard asked as he looked into the room curiously.

   “Wolfy ol’ buddy, I need you to seal this room, no one goes in and nothing is touched under any circumstances…tell the techs and chief that I will gather any prints and take care of this room myself, if needed I will do everything under observation and escort but no one touches anything in this room understand.” Nick said without looking at the wolf next to him.

 Normally Wolfard would have poked some fun at Nick for this but hearing the note of near panic in his friend’s voice told Ralph that now was probably not the time for making jokes. Assuring Nick that no one would go into the room and that a guard would be posted to make sure of it Wolfard called over a couple rookies from where they were setting up a perimeter around the warehouse and explained to them in no uncertain terms what would happen if anyone but Nick or the Chief himself went into that room.

“Don’t worry Detective Wilde, we will guard this room so well it would take a demon of hell to get past us” Larry Greytayle said with the kind of enthusiasm only seen in rookies eager to impress their superiors could muster.

“Absolutely Sir, no one is getting in this room.” Came the equally enthusiastic voice of Gary Heulen.

“Thanks guys, hopefully I am just over reacting and nothing will come of this beyond a bit of chewing out from the chief but until then, stay vigilant.” Nick said as he walked away from the room and back out to the mess of flashing lights and cars.

* * *

 

The crowd clapped and cheered as the vixen pulled herself out of the top hat on stage. Tipping the hat onto the end of her tail and flicking it into the air and catching it on her head made the crowd clap even louder. Standing on the brightly lit stage with her arms out to her sides Skye couldn’t help but smile at the applause. Clad in a leotard made to look like a fancy tuxedo, complete with little bow tie and tails Skye looked out at the crowd from under the shadow of her top hat and nearly flinched when she saw a pair of green eyes staring back at her.

   “Thank you all for coming, you’re too kind thank you…tonight we will go on a journey of unbelievable sights, incredible acts of death defying  acrobatics and mind bending illusions…and I might even make an appearance on stage at some point.” Skye waited for the low bits of laughter to fade away. “Now, to start us off tonight how about I show you the trick that actually got me banned from performing in Cowcutta…do we have any good strong bulls eager to volunteer tonight?” A few hooves were raised with varying degree of eagerness. “Oh I can fix that…you sir would you mind jumping up on stage, there’s a good lad, now how do you feel about ribbons and dresses?”

 Skye walked down the hallway wiping the last bit of sweat from her brow. Finally making it to her dressing room and walking in she nearly dropped her hat at the sight of a red fox leaning back in the chair set up before the mirror she did her makeup in. The fact that the chair was leaning back on ONE leg with no seeming support and at least five feet from anything was a rather neat trick too.

   “Nick Wilde…had it been anyone else in hear I would have called security once I was done with them, I learned a great mange hex after the first few over enthusiastic fans.” Walking over to her closet Skye began to undress. “Saw you in the crowd earlier, almost thought you wouldn’t make it since you didn’t come by before the show.”

   “Had a last minute lead on a case I’ve been working for the last few weeks and had to act on it, finished just in time to grab a taxi and make it in before the doors closed, though I think the doorman nearly clipped a few hairs from my tail on the way in.” Nick replied with his usual smug smile firmly in place “I see you have been doing quite well for yourself, you have gotten much better at the trick with the flaming lemons and chainsaw trick.” Nick said as he openly ogled the white furred vixen’s shapely hips and ass.

   “Well I lost enough fur to those practice sessions I should hope that I would be better, stop staring at my ass it isn’t like you haven’t seen it already, now what do you want Wilde.” Skye asked as she slipped a pair of lace underwear on followed by some nearly skin tight jeans followed by a similarly tight black t-shirt and spiked collar.

   “Can’t a guy stop by to say hi to an old flame? And what’s with the collar I thought you gave up the goth look…unless you have ‘expanded your horizons’…please tell me you did I would win so many bets of you did.” Nick asked as he slowly spun in place on the single leg of the chair he was still sitting in.

   “If you were any other mammal I would believe you when you said you just wanted to say hi but I know you, you want something and you are stalling for either the right time or the right turn of the conversation to bring it up, and maybe my boyfriend likes to choke me and I feel like making him work for it.” Skye said with a bit of a sneer at the end as she applied a bit of eye shadow in the mirror.

   “That hurts a bit Skye, you’re not wrong but it hurts. Besides you would never let a guy choke you so try again…anyway you are right I did come here for something in particular. You have been having the dreams as well haven’t you, started just about three months ago I would imagine.” Nick stated as he brought the chair to a stop and met the vixen’s eyes in the mirror.

Skye stopped and put down the makeup, looking at her former classmate and boyfriend in the mirror she could see the look in his eyes and on his face and could tell he was in one of his rare serious moods.

   “Yeah…I have been having them…same as the days after my birthday, vivid enough to wake me up sweating and panting but every time I try to remember details they always get muddled around and the whole thing just slips away. Been getting worse the last month or so, sometimes I almost have a hard time performing because every time I close my eyes, She is there waiting for me…always with that damn smile on her lips and that look in her eyes, like she knows what I want and is just waiting for me to ask for it.” Skye said as she wrapped her arms around her torso in an attempt to keep herself from shaking.

   “Do you still have it Skye…the book I gave you all those years ago….the book that started all this?” Nick asked as he got up from the chair and walked closer to the vixen.

   “Of course I do, you don’t just get rid of or lose something like that not just for the historical value and rarity of it but also the sentimental value…it’s in the chest over by the closet, third drawer down but you won’t find anything useful in it I already looked.” Skye said as she made a valiant effort to gain some control back by brushing her fur.

Nick walked over to the indicated chest and knelt down to open the drawer. Pulling it open he let out a small breath he didn’t know he had been holding. There it was, the Savarium nocta demorius…it looked smaller than the last time he saw it…less impressive too surrounded by lipstick, magic cards, sticky notes of new show ideas and…

   “Are these carrot print boxers Skye? Pretty sure they aren’t yours since you are more of a lace and thong kinda girl…” Nick said with a knowing grin creeping over his muzzle as he turned around with the book in one paw and the aforementioned unmentionables dangling from a claw of the other. Nick would have given a week worth of pay to have had a camera right then, the look of baffled embarrassment on her face was truly priceless.

   “OH THOSEDON’TWORRYABOUTTHOSELIKEISAIDIHAVEHADTODEALWITHSOMEREALLYCRAZYFANSNAD YOUKNOWHOWTHEYGETGIVINGGIFTSANDSUCHANDHEYITWASREALLYNICESEEINGYOUBUTIHAVETOGETREADYFORTOMORROWSOBYE!” Skye said all this in a single breath of air as she snatched the boxers from Nick and began pushing him out of her room.

   “Skye hold on a minute just listen to me…Look Skye you were right when you said I wanted something when I came here but it wasn’t just the book that I was looking for…something strange is happening, gangs that never had the strength to do much more than petty crimes are suddenly pulling off crimes that should be to big for them, mammals are disappearing and turning up later looking like they came out of a war zone and speaking gibberish, a few weeks ago I interviewed one and aside from trying to speak French with a Russian accent and not actually knowing either language the mammal reeked of magic Skye…He smelled like he had been subjected to every spell you could think of and twenty more after that. Then earlier tonight I was taking a look around a warehouse used by a gang that came up out of nowhere, no escalating acts of crime, no rumors on the streets nothing, just one day they were there on the scene collecting protection money and stealing anything from anyone they could.”

   “While I was looking around the scene after the arrests were made I found a room full of arcane implements and scientific paraphernalia. Skye it looked like they were trying to apply magic to science, or vice versa, and normally I wouldn’t think anything of it…except they were doing it right.” Nick said with a whisper at the end.

Skye stopped pushing and perked up at this last part, mammals had been trying to explain the mystic arts with science as far back as the two existed and had been trying to combine the two for almost as long but those had always been zealots and lunatics of one sort or another and had been largely unsuccessful .

   “What do you mean they were doing it right? They couldn’t have been doing it right because there is no ‘right’ way of doing it” Skye said with her voice slowly gaining in pitch and volume.

   “I know, I know…look, I haven’t had a chance to look very in depth in it but at a glance they had everything set up right…circles set up with runes and sigils that looked like they were drawn by a professional, beakers and tubes sitting next to incense and some even in their own circles…tinctures and herbs and potions and other crap…All I am saying is there is something weird going on and it all seemed to start up around three months ago, right around the same time the dreams started up…want to bet that it is a coincidence?” Nick said as he tried to keep Skye calm.

   “If those games of strip poker taught me anything it was to not bet against you if you are sure about something with that look on your face…what do you need from me?” Skye said as she seemed to pull herself together and almost visibly hung the cloak of her stage persona around her like a suit of armor.

   “Just keep an eye out and your nose on alert, if you smell sorcery on any level text or call me...call the precinct and say there is a maniac with a bomb if you need to, just be careful… I don’t know if there is anything to worry about or if it is just me being paranoid and jumping at shadows, keep your wards up and let me know if anything strange happens alright.”

   “Sure, thanks for telling me and for coming around…if you don’t mind my asking, why did you want that book back?” Skye asked with a small amount of trepidation in her voice.

   “Well besides the fact that you certainly don’t need it anymore, if things are going the way I think they are I might need to ask an old friend a few questions.” Nick said as he looked down at the book in his paws.

Skye watched as Nick gave her one last smile and wave before he walked out of her room and closed the door . The thought of someone combining magic and science and what they could do with such a thing rattling around in her head. Dashing forward to open the door and ask a few more questions Skye was surprised to find the hallway empty and no sign of the red Reynard. Looking around in slight confusion Skye noticed a sticky note on the ground stuck to an envelope. Picking the envelope up off the ground and reading the sticky note Skye couldn’t help the small smile at the fact that Nick’s handwriting was still as bad as it was when they were in school.

   ‘Dear Skye, you aren’t the only one who can pull off a good vanishing trick, keep an ear to the ground and a nose to the air and try not to be hit by a truck while doing so.

   P.S. Nice undies’

Quirking her head in slight confusion at the last part Skye opened the envelope to find a thong…a very FAMILIAR thong…familiar as in she had put this exact pair on not five minutes earlier. A quick check below the belt confirmed her worst fear, she was currently going commando.

   “HOW THE SHIT DID HE DO THAT!”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter ended up being a bit longer than I thought it would be because it is a bit more...wordy. If you can get through all the talking then good job you qualify for a 30 percent off coupon for your local therapist.

Nick sat in his apartment and watched in fascinated horror the extra-large pizza he had delivered not five minutes ago vanished in a swirling cloud of tiny bodies and buzzing wings until only the slightly chewed box was left. Taking a sip from his scotch he wondered exactly how much could a tooth fairy put away if given free rein on an unlimited amount of food…the ones currently buzzing around the room were noticeably fatter than they had been when they arrived but almost seemed to be shrinking back to their emaciated state as he watched. Nick jokingly thought to himself if the whole detective thing didn’t work out for him he could probably figure out a way to use his arcane skill in waste management or recycling. Shooing the still somewhat food dazed flying hellions out of his den Nick went about the quick business of cleaning up.

Deciding it was getting a bit late and that he had stalled enough Nick padded over to the sofa and went about moving it out of the way along with the rest of the furniture. After clearing a space large enough for his purposes Nick grabbed a bit of chalk and began to mark out a circle on his floor with runes and sigils. Incense were lit, the circle was drawn, candles cast the room in a soft glow…and still Nick hesitated…he hadn’t done this since he was a teenager and the consequences of making a mistake were less than pleasant. Taking a fortifying breath to steel his nerves Nick opened the book in his paws to the needed page, words began to flow from his tongue like he had been speaking them his whole life. Candles flickered in a breeze from nowhere, smoke from the incense seemed to coalesce near the middle of the design…Nick’s voice seemed to echo from impossible distances while never leaving the room, the corners and edges of the room seem to gain extra angles, space itself seemed to grow closer and expand to distances beyond what the mind could comfortably comprehend. Blue fire began to burn along the runes and circle on the floor, the scent of pine and freshly turned earth filled the room.

Nick could feel the moment the veil between his world and another was split, shadows grew in the corners of the room, thunder boomed overhead and all the candles simultaneously flickered and died. The space above the circle began to twist and distort and soon a pair of burning purple points could be seen, soon bones and muscle began to grow around the points and it looked like a creature from the depths of the abyss began to form. Tentacles lashed and sparked against the inside of the circle, jaws snapped and roared, clawed limbs flailed against the circle and scratched at the floor…Nick yawned and checked his watch.

“Are you done yet? I have work in the morning and would like to get this over with soon...and you better not mess up my floor to much, I don’t want to have to explain to the building manager why there are claw marks under my rug when I eventually move out.” Nick said as he calmly watched the terrifying display.

 **“Foolish mortal, I shall devour your soul and you will spend eternity writhing in pain as I slowly digest you among the acid of your failures in life.”** The monster before him said…to the wall opposite of Nick…realizing it was facing the wrong direction the abomination quickly turned around to see Nick holding up what looked like a score card with 6.5 written on it. Heaving a great sigh the nightmarish creature seemed to collapse in on itself until it finally settled on a very familiar form.

Nick took a minute to admire the view of the rabbit that he hadn’t seen in almost ten years…straps criss-crossing over her soft body barely concealing her slit, stockings still stretched tight over powerful legs, eyes like amethyst flashing in irritation and tiny pink nose twitching in anger.

“Long time no see, looks like you went and got all grown up…shame, you were cute when you were all gangly and awkward and trying to hide the boner you had going for that vixen…where is she by the by, I don’t see any other circles drawn and I don’t sense any other mammal’s lust so either she is very well cloaked or you are alone…ooohh, did you summon me for some _alone time_ perhaps *giggle* naughty little fox.” The rabbit said with a giggle after she was done looking around.

Sighing Nick reached into his pocket and pulled out a small plastic bag, with a flick of his wrist Nick sent it sailing over to the succubus before him. Grabbing the baggie from the air Judariel gave it a quick glance then looked back at her summoner with a raised eyebrow.

“And just what is this supposed to be? If you are trying to tempt me with mortal drugs you might want to re-think this since temptation is more my field of expertise.”

“Look at what’s in the bag, look closely and tell me what you see.”

“A bunch of yellow dust and orange crystals, is this some kind of jo…wait… _what is this and where did you get this_ ” Judariel finished her question with a decidedly dangerous edge to her voice as she slowly raised her eyes from the bag to Nick, who was totally not thinking about how utterly adorable the growl she was making was.

“It’s a bag of something, maybe a new kind of street drug that was about to hit the city or may have already hit and we just haven’t heard of it yet…I snagged it out of a gang hideout earlier tonight, from a room that was covered in arcane symbols and circles of power right alongside equipment straight out of a pharmaceutical meth lab. Now if you want to look at that and tell me it doesn’t at least _look_ like concentrated essence with a straight face then I will happily release you from the summons and let you get back to whatever doubtlessly important thing you were doing.”

“Pfft, of course it doesn’t look like essence, mortals don’t know how to gather let alone concentrate the essence of demons into something like this.” Judariel said with a smug look on her face…right until she felt a sharp _CRACK_ right below her puffball of a tail.

Arching up onto her tiptoes and grabbing her basically uncovered ass Nick had the chance to see a look of utter surprise before the rabbit demon whirled around to look behind her only to see a small sigil fizzle and burn to nothing on the floor.

“WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOX! THERE IS NO WAY YOU ARE STRONG OR EXPERIENCED ENOUGH TO CAST SPELLS LIKE THAT WITHOUT AT LEAST A FEW WORDS OF POWER AND THAT SIGIL WASN’T THERE EARLIER!” Judariel yelled in confusion as she spun back around to look directly at her summoner.

“You are right, I’m not that strong or experienced, yet, but you see there is this neat stuff called dayglow paint and if you get the right color it is nearly invisible in regular light, but when you view it under a black light…” Nick pulled a small remote out of his pocket and clicked a button.

Lights in the ceiling and lamps scattered across the room suddenly turned on bathing the room in a dark purple false light, and at the same time the room was bathed in the glow of what looked like nearly a hundred symbols, sigils, wards, and arcane formulae. Judariel looked around her in awe at what she saw…nigh invisible marks of power that revealed themselves at the flick of a switch, and each one glowing with stored power in her infernal sight.

“Fox what the hell have you got here…those look like…” Judariel finished in a near whisper as she looked at some of the marks around her trying to decipher the meaning of so many symbols…each one was different from its neighbor in either origin, language or even century of creation…but each one had a couple similarities: each was a symbol of punishment and each was connected to the one next to it by a chain of script so intricate it looked like a single line drawn between the symbols.  Looking at the whole thing in its entirety Judariel noticed the symbols seemed to circle in a tight spiral around her circle, starting from directly behind her and ending right in front of the fox that summoned her and the final sigil was...

Judariel slammed her back against the wall of her circle and almost looked like she was trying to climb up it or push herself through it, a look of utter terror on her face as she found herself staring at a sigil that should have been lost to the sands of time long before this whelp of a fox’s ancestor was born.

“I see you noticed the final symbol…each one is a punishment and each is queued to activate one after another in an ever increasing chain of unpleasantness if the resident of that circle tries to tell a lie or escape. As you can probably tell it starts with a quick swat across the ass and ends…with the Purging Flood, your entire existence filled with the nothing from before anything existed…all the physical aspects of your existence broken down and spread out across creation…the memories of your time among others purged from every mind that even had a fleeting glimpse of you…everything you have ever done simply explained away as a natural occurrence or someone else’s doing and everything you are just washed away into… well nothing. The book I found that explains how to make this says the only one who remembers anything about the victim is the one who purged them in the first place but since no one would believe them if they said it works well…no way to know for sure I guess.”

“Y-you’re bluffing, there is no way to know if that will actually work like it is supposed to and besides if you kill me you lose a contact in the underworld and risk shifting the claim on your soul to someone you don’t know.” Judariel knew it was a flimsy argument and that she was literally backed up against a wall but seeing a form of punishment that should have been lost to time charged and ready a few feet away had shaken her.

“Well every plan has its drawbacks, I guess that is one of them...now are you going to answer me truthfully so we can at least have a productive conversation or am I going to see if all the time and work I put into this array was worth it, seriously you have no idea how many headaches I got while having to draw this out in this lighting.”

“FINE…fine, yes the bag has demon essence in it…something that mortals aren’t supposed to know about let alone be able to refine into a physical form.” The succubus said with a certain amount of sulkiness in her voice at the position she was in. Walking back to the middle of her circle Judariel picked up the bag of dust and crystals so she could get a better look at it. Scrunching her face up in concentration Judariel looked at the bag from every angle, even going so far as to open it and sniff the contents before dipping her finger into the substance and licking it off shortly after. Spitting off to the side, much to Nick’s irritation at the burn mark on his floor, the demon eventually spoke.

“It’s a bag of concentrated Greed and Gluttony essence, there are a few other things in there but those I imagine are more to effect whatever stupid fool is dumb enough to take this stuff and make them more susceptible to the effects of the demonic influence…anyone who took that stuff would not only want ALL the things but then they would want more…pretty weird to mix these two though, was this the only one you saw at the warehouse you were talking about earlier?”

“No, there was practically a rainbow of baggies and colors; this was just the closest one I was able to snag before anyone saw me. Has there been anything going on downstairs that might shed some light on this?” Nick asked not really expecting an answer, though the sour look on the demons face told him he might have hit some kind of lead.

“Yes, there has been a few reports of demons from all circles either being summoned and not coming back or just vanishing entirely, they were all lower demons…practically accountants and janitors really so no one noticed until paperwork started getting filed wrong and trash built up.”

“Wait…you have accountants and janitors in hell?” Nick couldn’t help it…the idea was absurd…why would someplace like hell have such mundane positions like office workers and general staff?

“Of course we do, they are usually for mammals that are really bad at the job in life or think themselves to good for the job so it is more a holding position for low priority punishments. High end CEOs or rich snobs that make a mess and don’t bother to even try to clean it up usually end up as janitors until their paperwork gets filed and they get sent off to be punished in the order they need to be, this can take a while for them since mammals who intentionally modify accountant books and file false paperwork are generally snapped up to fill, file and organize the paperwork for everyone else and the amount of signatures alone can take years to get through on some forms. Now do you actually need something from me so we can make a deal or can I go home, I do have things to do you know.” Judariel said as her fluffy foot started thumping in irritation at having to spill a few secrets so she could stay honest.

“Hmm yes I imagine you do, lemme guess, blue balling a few mammals and teasing them into begging knots while never actually fucking them?” The look on this foxes face was sending all kinds of warning signals to Judariel’s tail but she couldn’t figure out why.

  “You see I have been rather active in the arcane community since our first meeting and I may have dropped your name a few times to see if I could get any information and boy was I surprised at what I heard about you…The Virgin Whore…Blue Balls Bunny…Judariel the Pure…oh the list goes on but everyone pretty much confirms one thing, you never have sex with any of those you punish and you even hold the record for souls collected in your placement trials…though none of them were collected the traditional way through sex…quite the odd little succubus you are.” Nick said with a small smile on his face threatening to evolve into a full blown smirk at the red creeping up the demon rabbit’s ears.

Nick practically broke something in his face with the effort to keep the smirk of his face at seeing the normally confident and teasing demon shuffle around and kick at the floor while mumbling something under her breath. Pushing just a bit of his will into one the symbols surrounding the demons circle in order to make it glow softly Nick as unable to keep his voice from sounding like poisoned honey.

“What was that Little Bun? I couldn’t hear you from all the way over here…mind repeating that last bit a little louder perhaps?” Oh he was poking a sleeping bear with a sharp stick and he knew it but the frustratingly embarrassed look on the demons face was SOOO worth it.

“Grrrrr..( _‘oh that is just to precious of a growl for this world’_ ) I said I was…I was saving myself for someone…special I guess…all my littermates jumped the first mammal they got to punish and are doing a great job if keeping the rabbit and sex stereotype going but I…was just hoping to have my first time with someone worth it I guess…anyway are we going to deal or can I go back to devising new ways to torture you when you INEVITABLY come knocking on my door at the end of your life.” Judariel was nearly thumping a dent into his floor at this point and was quite literally burning in embarrassment as her ear tips caught flame.

“Hmmm…yes I suppose we can deal, here is my offer: Help me find out who is making these drugs from demon essence, why and how they are doing it and help me stop them and in return you can have me at any time you want.”

“Really? You know a deal is supposed to at least be somewhat balanced right? If I help you out like you are suggesting not only would I have to stay in this realm for an undetermined period of time, which comes with its own complications I might add, but also I get you in the end no matter what…besides if I help you then you could try and claim a favor from any Circle we happen to find a demon has been taken from, you could theoretically skip out any punishment For Services Rendered…no way no deal try again.” Judariel scoffed at the ridiculousness of the offer.

“AHH but think for a minute” Nick said as he raised one clawed finger “You can claim to the other Circles that you either helped or were instrumental in finding out what happened to their missing members, possibly gaining multiple favors for each demon whose fate you discover…also ‘you can have me at any time you want’ is what I said, a rather easily interpreted choice of words wouldn’t you say. You get to decide how long I live and when I die in one interpretation, or if you are perhaps having a bad day you can pop in and work out your frustrations on a particular fox…think about it, how long do I have in your afterlife care right now? How long would you want me in your care? You get to decide when I head downstairs and even get to practice a bit on a living soul…not to mention you would have easy access to the physical world” Judariel’s  ears perked up at this. “The longer I live under this contract the easier it would be for you to step into the real world, get away from the pressures of your family and Circle, enjoy the pleasures of the world a bit…after all what better way to know how to torture someone than to understand what you are depriving them of…all those souls you have waiting for you back home desperately wishing to go back to their lives, how much more effective do you think you would be if you actually understood what they were wishing for, if only to deny them more efficiently?” Oh…he was good. Judariel couldn’t deny a certain appeal to his offer once put into such terms, but there must be an angle she wasn’t seeing...or maybe that was what he WANTED her to think…

“Counter offer: I help you find who is making the drugs, why and how they are doing it, help you stop them and in return not only do you let me have the credit, and favors if there are any to be had but also I get you when I want and you become my personal assistant when you die with the understanding that you will live no less than say…45 years old and no more than 65 years.” Judariel countered as she crossed her arms over her chest and cocked out a hip.

“Help in solving a big case good, give up any favors possibly accrued to any one of the Circles of Hell less good, be at your beck and call even less good, know that I am going to live to at least 45 in a high danger job pretty good, knowing that I am definitely not going to live past 65 maybe not good and when I die I have to be your personal whipping boy…I will agree as long as you agree to not call on me during work hours and that you in no way influence my love life should I pursue one; if I find a nice vixen and want a family you will in no way help or hurt our relationship and you will also not try to call me away from my job when I am working with the understanding that if you should call on me when I am working and I can’t answer I will owe you more effort and a foot rub when I become available.” Nick re-countered after a few minutes of thought, he was dealing away his soul and most likely some freedom here, he was gonna bargain cause his life depended on it.

“Hmmm, this sounds reasonable…I still get you in the end, I don’t get to play with your love life which is a bummer but not a big deal, I can’t mess with you on any late night stake outs but I can expect AT LEAST double the effort when I do call on you with a foot rub thrown in…very well fox I agree to help you find who is making these drugs, how and why they are making them while getting the credit and any favors for doing so, I will be able to return to the mortal realm when I wish to have you as I please with the agreement that you will be my personal assistant when you die and in return I promise that you will live to no less than 45 years old and no more than 65 years old with the understanding that I will neither help nor hinder your love life and any relationships therein nor will I call on you during any time you are actively working at whatever job you are currently pursuing at the time with the understanding that you will provide extra effort and foot rubs when you are available.” With these words spoken the circle surrounding the rabbit succubus began to shift and expand until it nearly came into contact with the circle around Nick. Symbols and letters began to etch themselves into the walls, ceiling and floor of Nick’s apartment as the circle came to a stop from its expansion, when Nick tried to look at them to closely or read the he found that not only could he not recognize the script but they seemed to squirm and writhe in the corners of his eyes, snapping still every time he looked directly at them. Looking at his own circle Nick realized he might be making a big mistake, not that calling her up in the first or second place wasn’t a bad idea and not that pulling out a banishment wouldn’t be a bad idea at this point but still…making deal with a demon was historically a rather bad idea. Nick straightened his back and squared his shoulders while looking the waiting demon in the eyes.

“I agree to the terms.” Nick was somewhat proud of the fact that his voice didn’t squeak or stutter and that he didn’t betray how nervous he suddenly was at making this rather rash decision. Watching with a certain amount of trepidation as his circle expanded to come into contact and then merge with the demons circle Nick couldn’t help but run through as many battle spells and defensive incantations as he could.

“Relax foxy, we just made a deal…I won’t harm you, yet.” The demon before him said as she sauntered slowly up to him in their now single circle. Hips swaying, ears perked high and face set into a look that probably could, or had, toppled empires Nick gulped slightly as the demon he just made a deal with came closer. With a liquid grace Judariel reached up and snagged the tie that Nick suddenly regretted putting on and pulled him down to her height, winding the tie around one small paw and caressing his muzzle with the other Judariel leaned in and kissed Nick with a passion that caused stars to explode behind his suddenly closed eyes. Soft lips gently massaging his own, a small tongue flitting gently across his sharp teeth only to dart in and play with his own, the feeling of a small velvet paw running up the side of his muzzle to scratch behind his ears had Nick in ecstasy…right until the pain started.

Pain like nothing he had felt before erupted within his mouth, like wasps drilling past his tooth into his raw nerves, a buzzing sensation screaming through his entire skull like his jaw was hooked directly to a live electrical wire. Nick felt himself rip away from the kiss and fall onto his back as the pain grew even more unbearable, like lines of fire arching up from his teeth into his sinuses to curl and wrap around his eyes all the way to the back of his skull. His entire head was fire, tiny drill were grinding on his bare bones and if his entire body wasn’t paralyzed by the sudden and incredible pain he would have let loose a scream of primordial pain the likes of which the world had not known for centuries. Right as he thought he might actually go insane from the sheer agony he was feeling it was gone, as fast as it came the pain was gone…replaced by the wonderful feelings of endorphins that were released to deal with a problem that no longer existed. Eyes rolling nearly to the back of his head at the sudden rush of relief that he was feeling Nick almost didn’t register the soft pressure on his groin. Forcing his eyes to obey him Nick looked down the length of his torso to the rabbit standing with arms crossed and one foot planted on his suddenly revealed shaft.

“Promise made and deal struck mortal…now let us go and find your drug dealer…and call me Judy, can’t have you throwing around a demon name in public now can we.” With that the now named Judy stroked her foot down his entire length and with a twist of her toes around his tip began to walk towards his apartment door. Nick quickly shook himself from his daze, tucked himself back into his pants and nearly called out to the rabbit as she reached his door…but thought better of it and merely stepped to the side a couple feet. Grinning to himself, he pulled out his phone and quickly brought up the video recording function in preparation for what was about to happen.

The second Judy grabbed the handle to his front door the entire wall lit up in a blinding flash of light and with the sound of fries dropped into hot oil so did Judy. For all of two seconds Nick could swear he saw the demon’s skeletal structure before the sound of a firecracker rang through the apartment and the aforementioned demon rocketed away from the door. Flying backwards and thankfully hitting a bean bag chair seemingly placed there for just such an occasion Judy had to take a few moments to gather her now scrambled wits. Judy may have not been on the mortal plane nearly as long or as often as her littermates but she damn well knew a smartphone when she saw one and could tell by the muzzle splitting grin on a certain shit eating foxes face that he was recording everything.

“I probably should have mentioned that gnomes are very good with security systems and have owed me a favor or two in the past, but then again you probably should have mentioned how much making a deal was gonna hurt so I guess we are even.” Nick said as he stopped recording and saved the newly made video. Looking up from his phone to the fuming demon that was now very stuck to his bean bag chair he couldn’t help but chuckle to himself. “That has been spelled to act like a fly trap to anyone trying to exit the apartment after the security spells have been activated; I figured keeping any unwanted mammals in to be caught would be about as good as keeping them out entirely. Now seeing as how it is rather late/early and I have work tomorrow morning, I am going to bed.” With that said Nick began walking out of his living room to his bathroom to get ready for bed, leaving a still struggling rabbit succubus stuck to his favorite bean bag chair.

“Fox if you don’t release me this instant you are gonna regret it…you hear me! I know you can hear me, you better release me this instant damnit!” Judy yelled as she struggled against the wretched bag of lfoam peanuts that seemed to close around her more as she struggled. “Damnit fox you get out here right now and call off your bag!”

“Sorry Fluff-butt, the spell to de-activate that would take a whole thirty seconds to recite and I will be lucky to get my recommended five hours of beauty sleep as it is so I guess you will have to just sit pretty until tomorrow morning and hope that I feel like setting you free when I wake up, night Fluff-butt sleep tight.” With that Nick turned away from his living room into his bedroom and shut his door on a tirade of curse from a pissed off rabbit, though he was rather impressed at how creative she could be and in how many languages too.

 

* * *

 

 

Nick yawned widely as he walked out of his room the next morning. Stretching his arms up high above his head and snapping his tail from side to side he strolled into his kitchen wearing nothing but a pair of black silk boxers. Just as Nick was about to get his ritual morning coffee started he heard a strange sound from his living room. Walking to the dividing wall between his kitchen and living room Nick peered around the corner and spied possibly the cutest sight he had seen in recent memory…Judariel the Pure, Demon Succubus of the Second Circle of Hell was wrapped up in his favorite bean bag chair like some kind of strange dumpling with only her head and ears poking out of the top and was putting off some kind of strange snuffling snore while her ears drooped in front of her face like fuzzy window blinds.

Quickly grabbing his phone and snapping a picture before the demon woke up Nick went back to preparing his breakfast. Halfway through flipping his omelet Nick heard a small snort and some inventive cursing in ancient Pandarian. Sliding his fluffy egg breakfast onto a plate and walking out to the living room Nick was greeted with a burning glare that could have melted steel…had it not been encase in fabric and foam peanuts from the neck down like a giant balloon.

“I am going to do so many things to you when you die you will be begging me to stop because it hurts so good.” Judy told him with a completely straight face as she looked out from her comfy prison. Sitting down onto his sofa Nick merely went about applying the appropriate amount of ketchup and hot sauce to his breakfast. After a few minutes of watching the damn fox lounge on his couch eating Judy eventually spoke up.

“Gonna call off your damn bean bag any time soon? I’m all for the whole restraints and bondage thing but there is usually at least some give and take and I have been here for the last few hours with nothing to show for it.”

“You’re right Fluff, I am gonna take a shower real quick and then let you out.” Nick said as he got up and began washing his plate….and straightening up his entire kitchen…and mopping the floor…and then spending an entire HOUR IN THE DAMN SHOWER…finally Nick walked out in a dark purple button down collared shirt and black slacks while pulling a black calf length trench coat around his shoulders.

Nick would have had time to leave and get himself a coffee on the way to work if the damn rabbit hadn’t been laughing so much. She was laughing so hard she was literally crying and even bouncing around a bit like she was in an actual balloon suit. Eventually Nick muttered the release spell for his bean bag chair under his breath and the bunny came flopping out in a breathless heap.

“AHAHAHA! Who are you supposed to be! Are you the reincarnation of Mick Tracy or something! Gonna call in for back up on your communicator watch! AHAHAHAHA, ohoh no I bet you are gonna take incriminating pictures of bad guys with a tie clip camera!” After this sentence the rabbit soon devolved into a further laughter. Nick meanwhile just looked at his non-communicator wrist watch and sighed, he really wanted that coffee…ok this was going on long enough, Nick quickly snapped out a single word and watched in amusement as the rabbit that was currently laughing her finely toned ass off suddenly yelped and shot to her feet with a blush valiantly trying to make itself known through her ears.

“Grrr, what is it with you foxes and doing something to my ass!” Judy grumbled as she rubbed her sore rear end while glaring at the offending fox.

“If it will make you feel better I can kiss it better” Nick said with a small smirk as he opened his door and began walking down the hall to the stairs.

“Oh trust me, that will be the least of the things you are gonna do to my ass…eventually…” Judy countered as she caught up to her fox.

“Please tell me you have a change of clothes stashed somewhere, because as amusing at it would be I would really prefer not having to arrest you for public indecency or anything.” Nick said as he came to the bottom of the stairs and began walking across the lobby of the building. Looking back over his shoulder he was just in time to watch as between one step and another the succubus he was stuck with for the foreseeable future rippled, seemed to vibrate in directions that probably didn’t exist and suddenly was walking up to him wearing a pair of jeans that while they reached to about mid-calf, looked like they had been painted on they were so tight. The pink plaid shirt she wore was nice enough, sure it was tied in a knot at the front but it was at least buttoned almost to the waist with only the last few inches tied just at her belly button. Nick felt the leather collar was a bit out of place but figured it would probably just be easier to not say anything and go with it….faster too if he wanted to make it to work on time.

* * *

 

 

Strolling through the front doors to the ZPD lobby Nick braced himself for what he knew was coming.

Sure enough a high pitched squeal and torrent of “O.M Goodness!” came as soon as he made it through the doors. He took a certain amount of pleasure at seeing Judy’s ears slam down to lay flat against her back before he looked towards the source of the acoustic attack. A certain chubby cheetah was practically dancing in place behind the front desk with is paws squished up into his cheeks, barely holding back another squeal of delight.

“Um…Nick, are we gonna just stand here or are we actually gonna do anything?” Judy asked as she watched the strange scene before her. Looking up at the fox beside her she noticed the small grin on his face as he looked at his watch.

“I like to give him a minute or so to prance out his energy before getting to close, I figure it is probably the most exercise he gets in a day and if I keep it up every day sooner or later he will be fit and thin…maybe.” Nick replied as he glanced at his watch once more before deciding to approach the front desk.

“OMGOMGOMG NICK YOU TOTALLY TOOK DOWN A SUPER BIG GANG JUST LAST NIGHT!” The still prancing in place cheetah exclaimed.

“Yes Clawhauser I did, not without help mind you and really all I did was scout around and ask the right questions to the right individuals, Chief Buffalo-butt and his boys did the most work…speaking of which is he in? I was hoping to ask a few questions about the arrests last night.” Nick replied easily with his small grin still firmly in place.

“OH OH yes he is up in his office right now I will call up and let him know you are coming…oh and who is your cute little companion?” The now named Clawhauser asked as he finally noticed Judy.

“Don’t call me cute!” Judariel shouted indignantly at the portly feline. “Bunnies can call each other cute but it just comes off as condescending and rude from other mammals you know!”

*GASP* “I am so sorry, I didn’t mean anything by it I just couldn’t help myself, I mean you are just so cu-adorable!...I’ll just call up to the chief to let him know you are coming right away.”

Giving a quick salute Nick began sauntering off towards the staircase up to the second level where the chief’s office was located. Cutting a glance to his side Nick noticed the somewhat smug look on his demoness’s face and the small hop she put into her stride.

“You did that just to embarrass him didn’t you?” Nick asked after a couple seconds of thought.

“Who me?” Judariel turned to him as they walked with an almost believable look of innocence “I am shocked that you would think such of me, shocked and dismayed I tell you.” And there went any thought of innocence.

Knocking on the door marked Chief of Police the two waited until their ears stopped ringing from the bellowed ‘ENTER!’ and walked inside to find the chief himself seated behind his desk. Eight feet tall and with a glare that could freeze a martini at twenty paces the hulking form of Chief Bogo waited for the two of them to take a seat…the same seat it turned out as the chairs were made for larger mammals and the two of them easily fit onto a single cushion. Taking a deep breath in what looked like an attempt to gather his thoughts the chief placed a comically small pair of glasses on the bridge of his snout and picked up a small stack of papers.

“First off Wilde, congratulations are in order at the successful apprehension of another dangerous group of mammals, keep this up and the rest of us won’t have much of a job to wake up to.” The chief began in a voice like gravel grinding underfoot. “That being said there are those who believe you are doing to good a job from so little to go off of, at least from what you are putting in your reports…un-named CIs, clues that practically fall into your lap, hunches and feelings that just happen to pan out…some are calling for an investigation from IA on the grounds that you could be working for a group like the ones you are helping to take down in an attempt to get rid of competition. I have been able to stall and usually shut down such notions but without possibly revealing a few CIs or showing how you come to these conclusions and explaining your methods a bit they will continue and I can’t promise that I will be able to protect you much longer.” The chief said as he looked over his glasses at the fox in question.

“Now, the preliminary reports from last night’s raid come to 17 mammals rescued, 28 arrested on charges ranging from kitnapping, un-lawful imprisonment, cannibalism, drug manufacturing, possession with intent to distribute, torture, bribery, double parking, assault, grave robbing, murder and practically every other charge that could be accrued in a single lifetime…the amount of DNA evidence we are having to sift through to get even an estimate of mammals that were killed by these degenerates is astronomical and is almost in the triple digits from the last update I got this morning. Now about the room you asked to be sealed off…” The chief left his last words hanging with an obvious note in his voice implying that ick was to pick up the conversation from there.

“Right, well from what I was able to glean from a quick look around the room from the door, I didn’t enter past leaning in from the door way, I saw a multitude of scientific apparatuses and texts along with quite a few arcane symbols and tomes…now I’m not saying they were successfully brewing drugs infused with magic but I do feel confident in saying THEY BELIEVE they were fusing science, drugs and magic and as crazy as that sounds you can’t deny the danger and power of a group of believers. If they believe in this stuff and they are somehow able to get others to believe it they could have the beginnings of a cult in the making. As you know I have a few different degrees in mythology and ancient lore among other similar titles, if I can determine the base of the arcane symbols and paraphernalia I might be able to at least point in the right direction for an investigation since a cult that worships an ancient death goddess is going to act differently from a group that prays to a fertility figure. These types of groups are also known to be somewhat paranoid about keeping their secrets un-known and I felt it better to err on the side of caution and keep valuable CSIs and forensic techs out of the room that very possibly could be rigged with any number and type of booby-traps, after all if I am the only one to go in and something goes wrong then the worst thing to happen is you lose a fox, not exactly something most are gonna shed a tear over.” It was only with her advanced hearing that Judy was able to pick up the slight hint of bitterness in Nick’s voice at the last part. Glancing over at her fox summoner Judy was unsurprised to find that nothing of the bitterness was shown on his face, the guy could make a killing playing poker against some of her siblings. The sound of the chief slamming a hoof down on his desk drew Judy’s attention back to the present situation.

“NO WILDE I would not just ‘lose a fox’ as you put it I would be losing a valuable detective that has repaid the months of time and effort put into his training multiple times over and who has successfully brought down multiple groups, gangs and individuals who would see this city fall into chaos and anarchy. I don’t give a wet scat what the politicians say or what the naysayers think , you get results and you get them fast and even if they don’t like to admit it there fewer empty cells now than when you joined and proved that you are more than a stereotype. Now, the room is still sealed and under guard, in an effort to ease any worries and head off any complaints I have approved a request for an IA representative to accompany you in the documentation and evidence gathering of that room, do you have any further leads or will you be able to start immediately?” Nick was more than a little taken aback by the chief’s outburst, he had always just kind of figured he was a political pawn at best and a token fox at worst. He kind of figured the chief probably didn’t HATE him but he never really got the impression that the chief gave him much thought to begin with, like he wasn’t all that important really. Sitting a bit straighter and deciding to forgo any sarcastic comments Nick had to consciously prevent his tail from wagging.

“I do have one more, well not a lead more of a suspicion, to look into. A well-known ‘purveyor of herbal remedies and alternative medicine’ generally known as Jenny greenfang, she has a residence on file and has been known to have connections on the fringes of the criminal element of the city as well as having been known to provide information on cases in the past. She has connections among the drug peddlers and a paw on the pulse of the illegal substance market even if she doesn’t actually deal in it, if nothing else she may be able to point in the right direction of what these guys were doing or hoping to accomplish and we will be able to check her off the list of possible suspects. If the IA rep is willing to wait until the day after tomorrow that should give me enough time to contact Jenny and ask a few questions.” Nick very definitely didn’t mention his previous patronage to her herbal merchandise, both arcane and only somewhat legal.

“Very good, follow up on that path of inquiry, submit any necessary reports and report to the warehouse first thing day after tomorrow, but before you do that…tell me why you have had a rabbit sitting next to you this whole time.” Chief Bogo snapped his gaze to Judy with such intensity it was almost a physical force.

Judy was a succubus, a demon of the abyss, she had either helped in toppling empires vast and ancient or been witness to such events, she was older than most empires and spoke languages that had been dead for longer than this buffalo’s genetic line had been in existence…but none of that stopped her from feeling at least a little intimidated by that gaze. There was something very familiar about this buffalo but Judy couldn’t figure out why and it set her on edge, nevertheless she couldn’t just sit there and let her summoner flounder for an excuse as to why she was there.

“I happen to be something of an expert on the darker aspects of the Law and I decided to help Nick out on this case with the understanding that certain favors will be owed after this whole situation is resolved…nothing that will affect his carrier of course.” Nick had to almost physically restrain himself from slamming his head on the desk at this little outburst. Looking away from the demon next to him Nick was about to try and run damage control on the situation, but the look on his bosses face silenced him better than a direct order.

“Detective Wilde…could you step out for a minute, I think I need to have a word with the young lady here about her part in this investigation. I will not have an investigation of this nature compromised by any misunderstandings and would rather address any issues personally.” The tone of his voice made it very clear this was not a request and that DECADES of parking duty were in store for Nick if he said anything other than ‘Yes Chief.’

Judy watched as her fox dropped from the large seat they had both been occupying and make his way to the office door. Turning around Judy was about to ask if the chief gave lessons on keeping snarky foxes in line when she noticed a rather sharp spear pointed in her direction…about half an inch from the bridge of her nose. After she un-crossed her eyes in order to follow the blade and shaft of the spear up to the holder she was completely caught off guard when her eyes locked onto a pair of burning blue irises surrounded by sclera the color of molten gold.

“Maybe you would like to reconsider your last statement about your intentions with my detective…demon.” Chief Bogo said in a deadly calm voice as he held his spear in a rock solid grip. Judy was so surprised at what she was looking at she couldn’t tell if she should be terrified or somewhat giddy…it wasn’t everyday someone pointed the Spear of Lionginus at you after all, nevertheless she was only able to breath a single word.

“Nephilim.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow...ok. I have ideas for the next chapter and sort of know where I want to go with this, whether i get there or not is the real question. Ideas, comments on how to make it better or easier to read are always appreciated and if you can point out any little easter egg type things I put in I will give a shout out in the next chapter and do my best to work in any ideas or requests you give me.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter ended up being a bit longer than I thought it would be because it is a bit more...wordy. If you can get through all the talking then good job you qualify for a 30 percent off coupon for your local therapist. If anything about the chapters seems a little weird let me know because something went a little sideways before I posted and I got a little confused so if something doesn't seem right tell me and I will try to fix it.

“Nephilim” The word was whispered but fell on the still air of the office like a thunderclap. It wasn’t often one found themselves looking down the shaft of a weapon that could kill angels and demons and which was supposed to have been broken and lost to the sands of time and yet here she was…less than an inch from the tip of the Spear of Lionginus.

“Where did you get that, last I heard it was broken into pieces and the only remaining piece was supposedly in the paws of a certain german swine.” Judy was rather proud of herself for being able to keep the quiver out of her voice and sound as confident as she did.

“If the Pawzis had half as many historical artifacts of Power as they are credited with having they would have been much stronger, though in this case the rumors were true, their leader had a piece of the shaft and used it to wage war. I was sent to retrieve the piece years decades ago, imagine my surprise to find that he had been killed before I even got to his base of operations, by a vampire no less and retrieving the piece was as easy as walking in and pulling it out of a cupboard…not the most glorious or challenging mission I have ever had but seeing as it was the last piece to the spear I wasn’t about to complain.” Throughout his explanation the spear never so much as twitched, staying rock steady less than an inch from her traitorously twitching nose.

“I see…and I imagine that combined with your heritage is how you were able to look past not only my Notice-me-not charm but also the glamour of being a cute little bunny…*gulp* so um…mind if I ask just WHO exactly you descend from and maybe who the front desk cheetah descends from seeing as how he pierced the charm with no effort but didn’t get past the glamour?” Judy’s mind was whirling with possibilities ranging from being smote from existence to actually getting help from an angel’s offspring.

“I am Mansa Bogo, Great grandson of the Archangel Uriel and Officer Clawhauser is the great 8 times over grandchild of Gabriel, though he isn’t aware of it and it really only allows him to pierce simple charms and makes him an unrepentant gossip monger.” Finally the now identified Nephilim pulled the spear away from Judariel’s face. “Now what is your business on this plane, in this city and with my detective and know _demon_ that should you lie I will know of it and give this spear its’ first taste of demon blood in centuries.” Deciding that honesty was the best policy at the moment Judy quickly explained how she came to know Nick at his first summoning of her, the repeat summoning just the night before as well as his growth in power over the years…she explained the deal they had made the night before as well as the possible new types of drugs that might already be on hitting the streets.

“Save me from the stupidity of criminals…distilled and concentrated demon essence, where does one even find the knowledge to attempt something that monumentally stupid.” Chief Bogo could tell he was going to need an extra-large dose of medicinal whiskey when this day was over.

“You don’t, that’s the thing” Judariel was pacing back and forth across his desk after convincing the chief they were essentially on the same side, on both the case and in the long run since both wanted bad mammals punished and good mammals to make it to the Celestial Spires even if they had very different methods of achieving this. “Any knowledge of containing or controlling a demon’s essence is quickly and thoroughly purged from the world when it surfaces, even if it is something that MIGHT lead to such knowledge….we have an extensive mis-information department dedicated to making sure certain rituals, practices, spells, ideas and knowledge are suppressed before they have a chance to become a threat to anyone…guess I’m gonna have to make a few calls and see if someone dropped the ball on something.”

“I dearly hope that is the case and this is just the result of information slipping through some cracks because if it isn’t you know what that could possibly mean don’t you?” Chief Bogo asked as he eyed the small demon pacing back and forth across his desk. “It could mean a demon is either leaving breadcrumbs for foolish mammals to follow to these conclusions or is directly influencing them, neither option is particularly comforting.”

“Is there anything you or some other Nephilim buddies can do to help solve this? I figure you guys would probably want this taken care of as quickly as possible.” Bogo just snorted with a note of contempt in his voice.

“Nephilim deal with bigger problems than this, rogue demon incursions, beings from upper and lower levels of reality passing through, immediate Armageddon level threats not possible drug cartels, even demon driven ones.” Using the butt of his spear Chief Bogo pushed the little lapine off his desk. “I can’t promise or offer aid from myself or my kin beyond whatever our normal jobs offer unless reality or time are in danger…Nephilim are more of a nuclear option than anything else…Now go back to your summoner and fix this problem and if I catch you using any more than basic camouflage charms in my precinct, the stars will burn cold before you are allowed to set one fluffy foot outside a single square mile of the second circle and if you don’t believe me just ask Bonnie…oh yes I know your mother quite well...” Bogo took a minute to savor the look of unadulterated horror on the succubus’s face at the mention of having her mother called. “She helped deal with a small incident in Reptalia a few decades ago and said if I needed her help again I could call on her, I doubt she imagined at the time that I might call about one of her own daughters, but here we are.” The grin tugging at the corner of Chief Bogo’s mouth wasn’t entirely suppressed but Judy wasn’t about to call attention to it. Giving a quick and sloppy salute Judy assured the large buffalo that she and her fox would get to the bottom of the demon drug case and that there was totally no reason to bring her mom into the picture.

 

* * *

 

 

Nick was half way through a bad joke involving a giraffe, carwash, three clowns and a box of flea powder when he saw a small grey blur rush past him followed by a sudden tug on his tie. Nearly choking at being dragged out of the precinct by his neck, it wasn’t until they were a good few hundred feet away from the station’s steps and in an alley that the little ball of fluff stopped and let go of his tie. Standing up and re-adjusting his clothes back into some semblance of order Nick looked down at the little rabbit that was pacing back and forth between the buildings to either side of them.

_Step, step, step, TURN, step, step, step, TURN…_ while watching a demon temptress chew at her blunt little claws and pacing no more than three feet back and forth was amusing it wasn’t helping to solve the case and was starting to un-nerve the fox. Reaching out Nick snagged the rabbits ears in one paw and lifted the rabbit succubus entirely off the street…an act that should have gotten a squawk of protest and promises of eternal punishments…the fact that the little rabbit continued to act as if she was still pacing, legs swinging like she was still on terra firma only served to un-nerve Nick further.

“Uh Carrots? You mind letting us Lesser Mortals in on what has you so freaked out or you want me to start guessing?” Nick asked as he watched the fluffy footed demon continue to stare as if in a dream while acting like she was walking on solid ground.

“W-what? What do yo-HEY! LET ME DOWN DAMNIT!” The demoness cried in indignation at being held up by her ears. The fact that the dumb fox that was holding her aloft wasn’t putting her down and just continued to hold her up while looking at her with a smug look on his face as she swung her legs out in a vain attempt at kicking the smirk off his face only served to irritate her more. Eventually Nick put the demon rabbit down and crossed his arms while looking at her.

“All right Carrots spill, what did Chief Buffalo Butt say that freaked you out so badly?” Nick hoped none of the nerves he was feeling or doubts that were peeking out of the back of his mind were noticeable in his voice…Judariel was a demon and she was freaked out.

“Where do I start!?” The little demon cried out in frustration “Apparently not only is your boss a fucking NEPHILIM but so is the front desk officer! OH and not only that but I had the SPEAR OF LIONGINUS, A WEAPON THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE BURIED IN THE SANDS OF TIME, POINTED LESS THAN AN INCH FROM MY DAMN NOSE! Oh and not only are there TWO ANGEL SPAWN IN THE CITY but the more dangerous of them knows my mom on a personal level and threatened to call her, LIKE HE HAS HER ON SPEED DIAL AND COULD JUST MAKE A QUICK CALL DOWN TO HELL OR SOMETHING!!!” The pacing had resumed throughout this entire tirade of revelations and now Nick was tempted to join.

“Wait…Bogo is a Nephilim? Since when!? What does that mean? And you say Clawhauser is one as well?” Nick asked in no small amount of shock as he began to process the full amount of info that had just been dumped on him.

“*sigh* Yes…they are both Nephilim…though a few generations removed from their holy sires it isn’t until around a ten or more generations pass that the Blood of the Glorious begins to thin noticeably, Bogo is probably only a little over a hundred years old and that is a stretch, Clawhauser is probably pretty close to how old he looks…” She wasn’t looking at him, rather she was looking into the far distance with a glazed look in her eyes.

“And this is a bad thing? We can just tell the Chief about the drugs now! Let him know how bad things really are without having to tip toe around and if we are lucky we could get this whole thing taken care of in a matter of days or weeks!” The amount of hopeful optimism and joy in Nick’s face at thinking he could just tell the entire truth to someone and have them help him without having to hide anything was so adorable Judy had to repress the urge to coo at it. Instead she just sighed and let her ears fall down her back before turning to look at her fox.

“You have to understand a few things about Nephilim...first off they shouldn’t exist in the first place simply because of the amount of power contained in a celestial being’s physical form. The main reason the world doesn’t have more Nephilim or Cambion is because unless certain rituals are performed or limiters in place, our power simply overwhelms the process. There is never more than maybe, MAYBE, ten Nephilim in the world at any one point in time and in order to maintain balance there is an equal number of Cambion…as one is born or dies so too is the other group affected. Neither group is controlled or contacted by their …faction for lack of a better word…basically angels don’t tell Nephilm where to go or what to do and neither do demons with their offspring. Both however will always feel a pull that will inevitably drive them to where they will be most effective, places where they would be more able to work the will of their court….are you listening to me?!” The little demon turned a glare at the fox as she noticed he was furiously scribbling in a small pocket notebook. Looking up at the question and sudden halting of her explanation Nick grinned.

“Are you kidding? I Have two voice recorders going right now along with my notes just so I don’t miss any of this…pretty much everything I have ever found about celestial offspring has been myth and rumor, never any kind of credible sources or anything and now in less than five minutes I’ve got enough for a chapter or more of a book I could write and publish to the magical community.” The enthusiasm and joy in her fox’s voice was adorable…time to shatter that dream with the quickness. With nothing more than a quick word that left a ringing in Nick’s ears the small notebook in his paws burst into viridian flames that quickly turned it into nothing but ash, similarly two small puffs of smoke and the sounds of static discharge from a couple pockets of Nick’s coat signaled the death of his recording devices.

“If you ever want a hit squad from both Courts to come for you then by all means try and publish that information, there is a reason you don’t find things like that…the Houses of Pain and the Courts of the Holy both have extensive and practiced departments dedicated to keeping mammals from finding anything actually dangerous…to Heaven and Hell that is, we just kind of figure if it wipes out a bunch of you here it will be a good learning experience for the survivors…anyway, to find not one but TWO Nephilim in the same city is a genuine miracle but to find them in the same job and workplace just screams of higher powers being involved somehow…you said we have some leads to look into yes? We should probably do so because if the Nephilim are here on the same case we are then we need to solve it before they do.” The slightly pale look the succubus’s ears gained at that last statement caught Nick off guard.

“Why would it be a big deal who solved the case? If they find out who is dealing the drugs before us what does it matter as long as the bad guys are caught?” 

“You ever hear the story of an island named Krakacowa? Yeah? You remember how in the story the volcano that made up most of the island erupted with no warning and sank the entire island along with every mammal on it to a fiery drowning death?...that was because a Nephilim had _suspicions_ that a gate to hell could be opened on that island… not that it was actually happening or going to happen just that it was possible for the one or more of the inhabitants to do so and that someone at some point for some reason had said they would want to do it.” Nick’s ears flattened down to his skull at the thought of an entire island worth of lives killed because of one mammals slip of the tongue.

“The legend of the village Roaranoake? A Nephilim got wind that a mammal had discovered a method to sever celestials from their home planes and then enslave them under his own will…after almost two weeks of looking he couldn’t find anything, but in order to be sure he fouled the water and drove the inhabitants of the village mad. Nephilim are basically the reason phrases like “Don’t use cannon to kill mosquito” exist, because they will and have used such methods.” Judy was glad to see that her words seemed to be getting through to the fox in front of her.

With a straightening of his back so sudden Judy could swear she heard something pop, Nick quickly turned and began walking down the alley. Raising an eyebrow at the sudden strange behavior Judy quickly dashed forward and matched pace with the obviously spooked vulpine. Remaining silent the small succubus watched as Nick hailed a cab and quickly showed the driver something on his phone. Sitting back on the seat Nick buckled in and began to peer out the window with a thoughtful look on his muzzle. Deciding not to bother him Judy remained silent and turned her thoughts inwards, how could a Nephilim and her mother know each other? What could they have possibly done together that would put them on calling terms?

 

* * *

 

 

Fifteen minutes later the cab stopped on the outskirts of a section of the city lovingly referred to as ‘Happy Town’…the fact that most of the buildings had some kind of graffiti splattered across the fronts and the businesses all had bars on the windows or were shut down permanently told Judy this was probably a less than ‘happy’ place.

Following Nick into the depths of the ghetto Judy felt some of her kin’s work in the air. To any non-magical mammals it would look just like a run down and dirty section of the city, but to her eyes the truth was all too obvious. The Twilight Daughters walking down the streets in skirts barely long enough to be considered clothing probably had no idea they had collars and leashes leading back to one of her cousins. The junky laying in an alley shivering in withdrawals most likely had no idea he had a wolverine from the Fields of Gluttony whispering in his ear about how much he wanted another hit. The small gang of rough looking adolescent wolves roaming down another alley would probably never know their leader was following the advice of a Tasmanian Devil from the Jungle of Wrath.

“You see them too don’t you?” The question took her off guard for a minute, looking to Nick Judy noticed the sad look on his face. “The demons practically running this part of town.”

Watching carefully Judy noticed that Nick was looking un-erringly at demons that should have been glamoured against casual viewing. “It feels like I have been able to see them all my life but I am pretty sure it started around six, I began seeing strange glows around mammals, shadows not quite matching up to the mammal casting it, words being spoken not matching up with words being heard...of course my mom seemed to think I just had an overactive imagination and my brothers just thought I was looney.”

“You had siblings?” Judy asked with a small amount of surprise, she hadn’t seen any picture in the apartment indicating any siblings, hadn’t even smelled anything to make her believe he had any close family.

“Yeah, six older brothers if you can believe it, apparently big families run on my dad’s side since he had six older brothers and a younger sister…my aunt and uncles are either passed on or too far away to really be a part of my life for a few decades now…my brothers are, well…one is a high priced lawyer, one is a bartender, the twins are professional martial artists, one has something to do with food and the last is a doctor...and then there is me the detective.” Judy was pretty sure she could sense a hint of pride in Nick’s voice as he spoke of his brothers, the thought of him as a little bottlebrush tailed ball of fuzz and then multiplied by seven brought a smile to her face and a coo to her lips, instead of making said adoring sound she masked it with another question.

“That is a pretty impressive spread, especially for how mammals seem to regard foxes around here, are you still close with them?” Nick gave a small sad sounding chuckle devoid of humor at the question.

“Yeah, it is pretty impressive we all made it as far as we did…we all made a promise to each other we wouldn’t stop or let the others stop until we all reached a point in our lives that proved foxes were more than society said we were and that no matter what we would all escape this part of town. The fact we were all pretty competitive with each other kind of helped and hindered us in these goals…we always pushed each other to do just a bit better, but we also pushed each other until words that should never have been spoken were said and bridges were pretty thoroughly burned, I haven’t seen my brothers for about five years now.” Judy felt her ears flop down her back, coming from a family as large as hers she couldn’t even imagine going five years without seeing her siblings…hell she could sometimes barely go five minutes without seeing one.

After falling into an un-comfortable silence for a few minutes the duo came to a stop in front of an old three story apartment building that looked just like all the rest on the outside, at least on the surface it did. Judy could practically feel her teeth buzzing with the power emanating from this building. Looking closer Judy almost jumped back when what looked like a graffiti dragon blinked at her. Walking up to the building Nick didn’t even bother trying the buzzer next to the front door; he just turned and smiled at the dragon on the wall.

 “Hey Sammy, is Mama in an entertaining mood?” Judy was about to ask who he was talking to when the dragon suddenly turned its entire head towards them. Having a great horned head full of teeth as large as her and eyes the color of a raging storm turn to look at her, all while remaining in only two dimensions was a very unsettling experience for Judy. Looking up the first two floors Judy noticed the dragons long serpentine body wrapped around the entire building, a masterpiece of art with every scale holding a single rune or sigil from a different language.

“ ‘Allo Nicky, da missus is in ‘er lion’s den after ‘avin a li’lle tumble down da sink bu’ for you I’m sure she could pass a lump o' ice for a china plate like you.” This sentence was said in such a strange way and in such a feminine voice Judy wasn’t entirely sure the dragon was even speaking a real language. Walking up to the wall next to the door she reached out and laid her hand upon the area right between the dragon’s eyes and ran her paw along the wall. It was a surreal experience since if she closed her eyes she could feel smooth scales and breathe like a blacksmith bellows, but when she opened her eyes all she could feel was semi-rough brick wall.

“Oh luv you got about a thousan years to stop dat, in da meantime feel free ta ge’ be’ind da ‘orns…oh yeah like tha….” The dragon trailed off as Judy moved her soft little paw to the area the dragon mentioned. With her eyes closed Judy could feel the smooth texture of the dragon’s horns as she ran her paws over them and then the smooth transition into rough scales at the base, a sudden rumbling like the feeling a subway going by under her feet nearly made her jump back before she realized the sound was the dragon purring in delight. Hearing a chuckle behind her Judy looked to see Nick shaking his head at the dragon’s antics.

“Alright Carrots, let’s go before Sammy here gets you to do anything I will regret not having a camera for.” With that the fox walked up to the door and placed his paw flat on the small glass pane set into the wood of the door and twisted his paw to the right as a circle of glowing runes lit up and began spinning in time with his movement. After a click was heard the door popped open on its own and Nick entered with one last glance at the dragon and rabbit before continuing to chuckle. Not wanting to be left behind Judy quickly said her goodbyes to the work of art and scampered in after her fox. Quickly catching up to the fox Judy couldn’t help but bombard Nick with questions.

“How is that possible! Dragons died out thousands of years ago!? It felt real when I closed my eyes but then like brick when I opened them how is that possible? And how did it get there, was it a real dragon somehow or was it really just paint on a wall? what language was it speaking, I could only get like every other word and even then I wasn’t sure, what did you mean when you said get me to do something you would want a camera for? How does this mama person have a painted…huh?” Judy stopped talking as she took in her surroundings…more graffiti, and it was all looking at her. Heads turned on walls and eyes glinted from shadows as the pair walked through the lobby. Fantastical creatures and mythical figures all peered down at her and the fox as they walked past and began to climb the stairs. Otters with the tails of fish called out to Nick as he walked by, lions with the lower bodies of horses raised paws in greeting from under painted trees, mice with the wings of insects zipped around in dizzying patterns laughing and jeering at the two. At the top of the fourth floor the duo exited the stairwell and walked down the hall until they came to a stop in front of a door painted over by a truly fearsome creature. With the head of a bull and the body of what looked like a Kodiak bear it stood before them with its massive arms crossed over its chest.

“Carl! How nice to see you, listen could you let Mama know we are here?” Nick asked with a jovial tone, though Judy didn’t miss the slight flattening of his ears and tightening of his facial features. The bull...lion…thing just snorted and glared down at them.

“You got a lot a nerve comin’ back ‘ere Nicky, ‘specially aftah what you did last tyme.” The sound of the creatures’ voice was surprisingly pleasant, like warm whiskey filtered through velvet…though Judy could still barely understand what was being said.

“Oh come on now it was just a joke, besides you shouldn’t have been sleeping on the job.”

“Mama laughed herself to sleep for a month and didn’t get around to fixing it for another week afterwards.” The bull-bear said with a decidedly sulky tone to its voice, thought it did lean down and make a small movement like it was unlocking a door.

Thanking the strange hybrid Nick reached out and opened the door with Judy right on his heels. The interior of the room looked bigger than the outside would have implied. Shelves of strange tech ran along the walls with a truly impressive and accurate depiction of a night sky: planets, moons and stars almost looking like they were being viewed through a high powered telescope… and were moving. The floor was made of what looked like some kind of hardwood painted strange combinations of brown, blue and green with bits of rock embedded seemingly at random until Judy widened her gaze and realized it was a map of the entire country. The duo walked inside slowly and stood gazing around in curiosity before Nick cleared his throat and called out.

“Mama? You here? Sammy said you were up here and I have some pretty important questions for you.” A beat of silence before what sounded like an ‘Uh-oh’ came from the left before Nick grabbed Judy and took a quick step backwards. A door that had been closed suddenly exploded and a figure came rocketing out in a cloud of sparks and electrical discharge strong enough to make the lights flicker in the entire apartment. With a painful sounding smack the figure came to an abrupt halt after impacting the wall to the pair’s right, Judy watched as what looked like a badger dressed in a lab coat and army pants slumped to the floor.

“NICKY! What have I told you about dropping in like this!? Don’t you know the sheep are watching and might be following you I need time to set up wards and such! Oh you brought a friend how nice and a female at that! I guess there is hope for you after all let me get a look at the little sweetie.” Judy’s vision was suddenly filled with a black and white stripped face as the still static sparking badger leapt to her feet and bustled over to the two.

“Oh she is just precious, where did you two meet you have to tell me all about it, tell me dearie do you like chocolate pixies? I love them, the wonderful chocolate and soft sweetness of the powdered sugar…” Judy had no idea how but she suddenly found herself sitting on a wonderfully comfortable armchair a size or two too big for her holding a cup and saucer of tea and two little cookies. 

With a small laugh under his breath Nick allowed himself to be bustled into the same armchair and handed a cup of tea and cookies as well.

“Nick…um…how did we end up on the fourth floor when the building only has three floors? And what were all those creatures on the walls? How did they move and what is with the floor and ceiling?” Judy asked after she sipped what could only be descried as the best cup of tea she had ever had. Nick chuckled to himself as he took a bite of one of the cookies.

“If those are your only questions, here is another to cook your noodle…if we went UP the stairs, why are the windows below ground?” Judy snapped her gaze to the windows and sure enough she was met with a below street view, as if they were looking up from a below ground room.

“Now, what can I do for you two? I am right in the middle of some very important experiments you know and the sheep aren’t going to wait around for me to prove how evil they are you know.” The strange badger said as she situated herself in a couch with her own tea and cookies.

“Mama Honey, I would like to introduce you to my associate Judy, Judy this is Mama Honey B. possibly the best spatial-technomancer in recent history and certifiable sheep conspiracy theorist nutjob.” Nick said with a small gesture of his cup.

“Now Nicky you know as well as I do the sheep are up to something and I need to figure out what it is, they have a plan in the works and I am THIS close to finding out what it is.” The now identified Honey said with a tolerant smile.

“As for your questions dear” Honey looked towards Judy “The creatures you mentioned are something of an early warning system and security measure, I give them life and they give me peace of mind, as for the floor and ceiling they are my surveillance system and time piece, I keep track of what time it is by the ceiling and can look in on where I want to with the floor, observe.” Honey hopped to her feet and extended her arms out in front of her with her palms pointed down towards the floor, with a small movement of her arms the strange map like view of the floor seemed to solidify and with another movement of her arms, as if she was pulling some curtains apart it was like the map of the entire country was zooming in and in a couple of seconds Judy was looking at a bird’s eye view of Zootopia. Another few movements and she was looking at City Hall as Mayor Lionheart and Asst. Mayor Bellwhether walked out the front doors.

“You see there, proof that the sheep have infiltrated even the highest office.”  Judy butt shuffled a little ways away from the badger once she saw the rather manic light in her eyes.

“ALSO, as for the other questions, while you are correct that dragons died out many generations ago they lived on in myth and legend, Sammy at the front door is as real as she needs to be and likes to pretend she is English after an unfortunate BBC channel binge which is where she got the accent…as for doing something he would want a camera for well….anyway look here, the documents the sheep is holding? Propositions to increase grazing land but where are they going to get that land you might ask, easy they are going to knock down the less prosperous parts of the Rainforest District for a more lush type of grassland perfect for grazing, in doing so they are going to create a high price section for more sheep and raise the property value and thus taxes on the whole of the RFD while pushing less desirable mammals into lower income areas like happy town.”

What followed was a painfully comprehensive, agonizingly detailed and remarkably convincing speech on not only how the sheep were evil but also how long their plans had been in play, the various cover-ups and sub-conspiracies,  major players and under bosses...it was so convincing and detailed Judy almost missed how the cork board with a spider’s web of yarn connecting pictures and news articles was flipped over to become a dry erase board covering some new, smaller level of the conspiracy and then flipped again to reveal yet another level of more local players as opposed to the global ones…this one written on a chalk board…

*Ahem* “Mama? I think if you keep going you might fry the little bun’s brains out.” Nick said with a small chuckle and slurp of his tea.

Turning away from the seven circle bubble chart abomination she was going over in crayon on a large piece of construction paper, Mama Honey looked over to Judy and chuckled in a somewhat embarrassed way as she saw the rabbit’s eyes had not only gone glassy but severely crossed as well. Flipping the board one last time to reveal a soothing oil painting depicting a sunset on a beach Mama Honey returned to her seat and sipped a bit of her tea.

“So Nicky, you show up un-announced, with a rabbit, a female rabbit no less, a female DEMON rabbit and say you have questions of some importance…I feel there is a story behind all this…” The look in Mama Honey’s eyes told nick he was not going to be leaving until he told her what she wanted to know. With a sip and a sigh Nick spent the next few minutes detailing the bust on the warehouse, the room filled with occult items and scientific paraphernalia, whistling up Judy and the their previous encounter when he was still I high school along with her apparent run in with and discovery of his boss’s apparent more-holier-than-thou ancestry.

“Well…I see you haven’t mellowed with age in the slightest, still the same spitfire little shit you were as a kid except now you don’t have your brothers to pull you away from the edge of danger. Nicky I would love to help you but what you are saying is impossible, demon essence can’t be influenced by mortals and what we know as magic simply doesn’t play well with science never mind the how ridiculous the thought of street drugs being cut with distilled demon…” She cut off abruptly as Nick pulled a small baggie from his coat pocket and lightly tossed it to her. The baggie had a mixture of blue/purple powder with small clusters of red spikes mixed in…like a blue ocean with red sea urchins.

Judy had by this time gotten herself under control and had been sipping at the very wonderful cup of tea. Watching Mama Honey grab the bag out of the air and examine it was almost enough to make her chuckle, the look of confusion as it slipped into shock and then slid on in to confused amazement and finally to a level of manic excitement reminded her of a roller coaster she had gone on back home, just less fire and the tracks weren’t made of mammals nailed together…it also made her wonder where her favorite straight jacket was since the look in the badger’s eye was not one of mental stability.

“So Mama? Think you can tell me anything about what is in that baggie?” Nick asked after a sip of his still warm tea, he really had to remember to ask how she kept drinks hot and cold for so long one of these days.

“Nicky you could have just handed me the Blighted Cup of Ewedus Iscarigoat and told me you found it in a garage sale…I can tell you a few things about it, most if not all of them should not be possible though…it’s demon essence for sure you were right about that, somehow, but it looks like there is at least two types here…at a guess I would say it is possibly Wrath and either Lust or maybe Sloth. I have no idea how you even ingest his let alone what it is supposed to do or how it could possibly be done…you said there was an entire room of stuff like this along with what you assume to be the instruments used to make it? I would very much like to see that…” The tone of voice at the end of that statement told Nick that she would be seeing the Room of Creepy Arcane Science whether she had permission or not.

“Wait until the day after tomorrow, I still need to follow up on a lead and submit the various bits of paperwork this is going to need to be legit. If you wait until I say it’s ok, I can get you full access to the room and you won’t have to sneak in at all…it will involve escorts and paper trials and such but that will have to be the price of your patience, ok?” Mama Honey clearly didn’t like the thought of having to wait longer than the next five seconds but relented after a couple seconds of thought. “In the meantime-“ Nick continued with a hint of smugness in his voice “I need to find someone capable of studying that powder stuff there and telling me something about it…you wouldn’t happen to know where Jenny G is do you?”

“JENNY G! YOU WOULD TRUST THAT DRUG PEDDLING GATOR BAIT WITH POSSIBLY ONE OF IF NOT _THE_ MOST IMPORTANT ARCANE DISCOVERIES OF OUR AGE! I WOULD SOONER WATCH HER DROWN IN HER OWN SWAMP THAN LET HER NEAR THIS!” The outrage in Mama Honey’s voice was enough to make Judy jump at the vehemence of it…thankfully she didn’t spill any of her tea…these little saucers really held a lot more than it looked like they should…

“Ah so Jenny is in the bayou these days huh?” Nick said, seemingly unaffected by the badger’s outrage as he calmly sipped at his tea.

“OF COURSE SHE-…oh you little shit…you played me and got me to tell her location didn’t you?” Watching Mamma Honey stop mid rant and visibly deflate at her own folly amused Judy more than it probably should have.

*sigh* “Yes Jenny is in the bayou of south RFD near the bay area…got herself a nice little business going…you aren’t seriously going to let her in on this are you?” The tone of pleading at the end of her voice was almost enough to make Judy want to find someone else to go to.

“Yes Mamma I am, she is the most likely one to have either direct information on the substance or know something about it. I know you could tell me its composition and the methods used in its making after a few days but I need answers within the next day at most and I need to know about any street chatter involving it, who started it, where was it coming from and going to. The Wendigo Gang was big and strong but they weren’t smart enough to start something like this and they didn’t deal in drugs, at least not on this level. Jenny G has her finger on the pulse and her fist around the heart of the drug industry of the city and is currently the best starting point for something like this.” Mamma Honey shifted and grumbled a few things, clearly not happy about it but not able to refute Nick’s reasoning.

“Just be careful alright, I don’t need you going and getting dead just as I am on the verge of exposing the sheep for the manipulating cotton swab rejects that they are, I want you to be around when I do so I can rub your face in it.” Nick smiled fondly at that and stood to leave, Judy hopped up and placed her tea down on the table with a small bow of thanks, it really was good tea and deserved a bit of respect.Nick walked quietly back to the front door and after saying goodbye walked through with Judy hot on his heels.

To say Judy was a little surprised to be walking out of a janitor closet on the seventh floor of the Grand Palm Hotel, at least three districts and more than eight floor up from where they entered the badger’s apartment building would be an understatement. Hearing Nick chuckle as he began walking away got Judy’s attention enough to scurry after her fox.

“How, what just happened? We were in the basement of an apartment building in Happytown after going up four flights of stairs in a three story build and now we are seven floors up…” Nick just smiled at her confusion.

“Trust me fluff butt, I have been trying to figure out how she does that, among many other things, for as long as I can remember. Did you notice how the tea cup never seemed to run empty? Or how it always stayed the perfect temperature? Mamma H can use some bits of sorcery like others use a tooth brush and other things as easily as some mammals breathe but get her in a social setting and she falls apart. She prefers the company of her paintings and conspiracies to that of other mammals.”

“Just think of what would happen if I told her she was right.” Judy giggled to herself as she walked along the plush carpet hallway at the mental image of the crazy badger being told she was right all along by a demon. Judy had just pressed the down button for the elevator when she noticed Nick was standing still a good few feet behind her. “Something wrong slick? We are going down right?”

“What do you mean “if you told her she was right”” Nick asked as he walked up and waited for the elevator alongside the demon.

“Well pretty much everything she said about the sheep is correct, she was off on a few things and credited them with some things they didn’t do but for the most part she was right. The Garden of Envy and the Jungle of Wrath are practically next to each other and while the main inhabitants of the Garden are sheep they are fairly common in the Jungle, it makes a sort of sense that they would be influencing this realm in some way and I remember hearing a few rams brag about some of the things Mamma Honey mentioned.” Nick just stared in shock; he had listened to the crazy badger ramble on about demon sheep since he was a kit but never thought it might be at all real.

“So Slick, what is our next move?” Judy asked as the elevator opened and the one mammal and one demon entered.

 

 

“Now? Now we go back to my place and get some rest, I don’t know about you but I don’t imagine Jenny is gonna be happy that a fox wizard and bunny demoness are showing up on her doorstep never mind this late in the day.” Judy just nodded at that as she was fairly tired herself, it had been a long day and it wasn’t every day you got threatened by a Nephilim holding a sacred weapon. Once the elevator stopped Judy was just about to step off when a shrill cry sounded and nearly scared her back home. A grey blur filled her vision and she was suddenly slammed up against the back of the elevator, a soft and warm body pushed up against her own and a familiar tongue sliding down her throat as a wonderful pair of lips massaged her own while a pair of small and _sinfully soft_ paws roamed down to her butt and gave it a hearty squeeze.

“PRUDY JUDY!” The name as much as the sudden stop to the mind blowing kiss brought Judy back to reality as she looked at who was currently in her arms and groping her butt.

“J-J-Jasmine!?” Of course…OF COURSE she would run into one of her most successful sisters…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow...ok. I have ideas for the next chapter and sort of know where I want to go with this, whether I get there or not is the real question. Ideas, comments on how to make it better or easier to read are always appreciated and if you can point out any little easter egg type things I put in I will give a shout out in the next chapter and do my best to work in any ideas or requests you give me. This story is sort of taking on a life of its own and is being difficult when it comes to staying on point.

**Author's Note:**

> Don't expect the next chapter to soon since I am having a bit of writers block on it, it is kind of wordy and more of a set up chapter for what is to come. Again ideas for concepts and events are always appreciated and considered, probably not gonna do smut in THIS one though if the inspiration hits I may make a side chapter for it.


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